Beautiful collection of poetry on womanhood, sensuality, and ancestral trauma. I truly enjoyed making my way through this collection. I would recommend to anyone seeking raw, honest poetry that feels like words from a close friend.

Bola Juju is an American author and this is her first collection of poems. Bound2Books is no stranger to poetry. I love to read poetry books, I love to talk about poetry, and I feel like it is extremely important to celebrate and keep poetry alive and in conversation in the contemporary world.

Juju’s collection of poetry explores and highlights the beauty of our bodies, her poems celebrate femininity, love and loss, and the relationship we have with our bodies and the world around us. Many of the poems feel like they are searching for something more than what is on the paper. There is a longing in Juju’s words that speak to something bigger than us – something spiritual.

One of my favourite poems “My Throat Holds A Corridor of Spirits” speaks to the frustration many women feel with speaking out and being loud in the world. Juju seems to touch on the idea many marginalised groups can feel when they feel that they need to shrink before society in order to fit in.

The world loves me best quiet

they laugh

spilling rum out of the corners of their mouths

Honey, that doesn’t sound like love at all!

There is a power in these words that I really appreciated hearing. We lie to ourselves so much and tell ourselves that the cages we are in are actually a home, but deep down we know what they really are – cold hard prison bars.

There is a power to Juju’s poems that ignites something in me when I read them. It feels like a chorus of women, from past, present, and future speaking to me, encouraging me, and asking me to hold myself accountable.

All that your ancestors had to

go through for you to be here

and you doubt yourself?

How dare you

The other aspect of Juju’s writing that I really enjoyed was her way of connecting domestic work and work on the soul – cleaning dishes; cleaning souls; cleaning love; cleaning partners. Is it purification or decemation? And are they even different?

I look forward to seeing more of what Juju will write. What poetry are loving and reading? As always, share the reading love.

Note: this poetry collection was accessed through Netgalley for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

Witchdoctorpoet by Bola Juju was an empowering read.
It was unlike any poetry collection that I had ever read. The pages are full to the brim of stregnth, empowerment, wisdom intertwined with belief. I learnt so much from this book and think it will stay with me for a while. The collection tackles so many topics, like addiction, what it's like being a black woman, sex and trauma.

A collection of poetry that explores womanhood, ancestral trauma and healing . Full of passion and emotion, the author’s writing style is imaginative and evocative. Some poems are really short while others are longer and more contemplative. It’s not very long so makes for easy reading as well. Thanks to Netgalley and the author for the ARC

witchdoctorpoet was a delightful, empowering, inspiring work of poetry. Every page held its own beautiful message of owning your power, being authentically yourself, or being unapologetic in your pursuit for respect and happiness. This is definitely an author I will be following in the future. Bola Juju's soul shines brightly through the pages and reaches out to you to let you know the wisdom you need to hear.

Honestly, the first half of this poetry book confused me. I don’t know if the formatting messed it up or what. There was a few parts I liked though.

The collection of poetry is of the same vein of Rupi's work, not that these are in anyway about the same content or issues but that this is a collection of short, hard-hitting, poems that are brutally honest and creative.
JuJu shares her innermost thoughts on being a black woman, suicide, connections with ancestors, and interpersonal relationships. Very raw, the formatting at least in the digital format provided was a tad confusing. A overall good work.

This is a very dark and deep collection of poetry that are short, easy to read and flow well. They tackle hard subjects such as sex, trauma and addiction easily but also talk about healing and recovery. As you read this collection you can feel the author has poured her heart and soul into this work and that is very commendable. I am sure fans of poetry will really enjoy this collection.
Thankyou to the publisher for access to this collection in exchange for an honest review.

WOW.

Bola Juju is incredibly talented, and told her story with this series of compelling poems. This was simply stunning. It was sparse, haunting, mystical, powerful, and revelatory. This is one of the best books of poetry I've ever read. Some of the phrases knocked the wind out of me, I wanted to screenshot every page.

"Motherland,
do you remember me?
I'm the daughter they pried from your hands"

WITCHDOCTORPOET is a poetry collection about womanhood and spirituality and trauma that spans generations. Split into four sections - lost souls, the wounded healer, the root work, and the worship - some of the poems are breathtakingly lovely. Overall, however, lots of the poems just couldn't grip me. The wording was beautiful but not all of them sunk into my heart the way that a handful did. Overall, I'd give WITCHDOCTORPOET a 3.5/5.

"It is true
We were our own undoing
but at least
we were brave"

(Thanks NetGalley for giving me an advanced readers copy in return for an honest review.)

I didn't connect with this book at all. I tried, but I couldn't even finish it.
I feel bad leaving this bad review but it is what it is.
Better luck next time.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion.
There were a few poems that were very insightful and beautiful and then there were some that were left to your imagination.
This book is one for a very select group of people individuals who are willing to open their minds and see things differently. It is not for the stuck in the mud type people. You have to read it a couple of times and give it a fair chance.

As requested by the end of this book, all the good energy I received whilst reading this book will be used to write a love note.  That love note will be to this book.  

I do not think I am the intended audience for this book--certainly I can only sympathize with the oppression, ancestry, and self-care as themes this book offers, but I love it all the same.  I want to hold this book up, put it on display, recommend it to everybody I know because not only did I find these poems beautiful, intriguing, satisfying--but also educational, empowering.  

Bola Juju seems to have put all of herself into this collection of poetry, and I applaud her for it.  These poems, to me, feel personal and intimate, as though perhaps they were only meant for her eyes only.  Luckily, she shared them with us.  Such poems such as "Desire" and "()" left me breathless, knocked me off my feet.  Such raw freshness, beauty, power.  These poems felt like incantations, like intentional magic, like admiration itself.  

Do not miss out on these poems.  If you enjoy poets such as Rupi Kaur or Nayyirah Waheed, you will also love Bola Juju.  You will love her so much.

Thanks to NetGalley, I was honored with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

WITCHDOCTORPOET is everything I need in a poetry collection.
Intense truths that make you uneasy.
I'll read this again and again until the day that I can read it without feeling ashamed of my womanhood.
And I will recommend it to my friends until each and everyone of us is okay with who we are. Because we all are WITCHDOCTORPOET.

Witchdoctorpoet is a moving and beautiful poetry collection that focuses on the struggles and spirituality of African women. I would recommend it for those who enjoy modern poetry.

I cannot even express my love for this book in words. Everyone should read it. Beautifully written. Would highly recommend.

Beautifully written and raw. A journey through various stages of womanhood and some of the trials and tribulations, betrayals and disappointments. From alcoholism to failed relationship to self love and empowerment. The author spins it all together and mixes it up so that for every down there is an up. It makes you feel like you can handle anything, an arming of courage and invincibility in some ways. Some poems spoke to me much more strongly than others but all in all a fabulous collection. Some of the more memorable pieces for me were mostly in "worship" section of the book but the most memorable are as follows:

"F-ck being the woman of your dreams

I am the warrior that haunts you
while you are wide
awake"

"Breathing was
my first revolutionary act
loving myself
was my second"

I was lucky enough to get an early e-copy of this book and absolutely devoured it. The imagery is vivid and fierce, the subjects unflinching.

I finished it and started it all over again. Highly recommend. Reading these poems is a cathartic experience.

Wonderful poetry. I enjoyed the poems and they were beautiful. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing the arc.

This poetry and prose collection makes an impact from the very first page. The book is divided into different sections that contain short stylized poems or longer, more structured poetic narratives. At first I found it hard to navigate the text in my kindle app but once I got used to the structure, I flew through the pages..

This poetry evokes so many emotions within me. Some phrases make me angry. Some burn inside me and some will linger in my mind for a very long time.

Thank you Bola Juju and NetGalley for sending this collection my way!

read my full review on my blog.